Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal gives a terrifically fierce performance as a tenacious and delusional self-actualizer.

"...the paramedics or police, but rather observing the parasitic cameramen out to get juicy footage for local news stations..."

Oct. 31, 2014 Movie Review by William Goss

As Above/So Below

There are things in the catacombs beneath Paris that should remain underground.

"...[REC] remake, Quarantine. Documentarian Benji (Hodge) has trained his camera on urban archaeologist Scarlett (Weeks) as she continues with..."

Sept. 5, 2014 Movie Review by William Goss

And So It Goes

Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas are ill-served by director by Rob Reiner in this odd-couple romance.

"...on the day of filming, so the actors and cameraman just winged it. Perhaps his embarrassing (and pointless) turn..."

July 25, 2014 Movie Review by Steve Davis

For No Good Reason

The artist Ralph Steadman, best known for his illustrations of Hunter S. Thompson's books, is profiled in this documentary.

"...guide, For No Good Reason comes alive whenever the camera sits back and records Steadman attacking a blank piece..."

June 13, 2014 Movie Review by Josh Kupecki

Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club

Tyler Perry makes a comedy about single mothers who don't get enough credit.

"...The Single Moms Club in terms of his rudimentary camera setups, this film stands out for a couple of..."

March 21, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

God Loves Uganda

Uganda's harsh, new anti-homosexuality law owes much to the Christian evangelical movement, argues this documentary.

"...Uganda. Using a combination of cinema vérité, interviews, and hidden-camera footage (much of it lyrically edited), the documentary exposes..."

Feb. 28, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Saratov Approach

This faith-based, true-life thriller tells the story of two Mormon missionaries who were kidnapped and held for ransom while serving in Russia in 1998.

"...the film is told with a constantly jerky handheld camera mostly in tight close-ups with the occasional tight medium..."

Jan. 31, 2014 Movie Review by Louis Black

Blue Is the Warmest Color

This three-hour-long French film has been much hyped for its graphic sexual content, but it's the less explicit stuff that makes it worth a watch.

"...Kechiche is fascinated with process. He lets the camera roll long on mundanities – a spaghetti dinner, a..."

Nov. 1, 2013 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Generation Iron

This doc about bodybuilders vying for the Mr. Olympia title is narrated by Mickey Rourke.

"...but these are all integral to the topic. The camera work is fluid and the editing sharp, articulate and..."

Oct. 4, 2013 Movie Review by Louis Black

20 Feet From Stardom

This film is an extended hosanna to an undersung artist, the backup singer, and what a joyful noise it makes.

"...collared some very big names to sit for his camera – Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Sting, to name..."

July 5, 2013 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Room 237

Pet theories about what really went down at the Overlook Hotel abound in this documentary about Stanley Kubrick's intentions in The Shining.

"...Hotel. First-time feature director Rodney Ascher never fixes his camera on the five interviewees, relying solely on the audio..."

April 5, 2013 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Revisionaries

When it comes to choosing public-school textbooks, what happens in Texas is of national concern – and this documentary captures these culture wars in full bloom.

"...was particularly contentious, and Thurman was there with his camera to record the circus. First it was the battle..."

Oct. 26, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Alison Klayman's doc is as much a rallying cry for freedom of expression as it is a portrait in progress of an artist whose career is ongoing.

"...and much more is captured by Alison Klayman’s digital camera, which happened to be at the right place at..."

Aug. 10, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Chimpanzee

The Planet Earth filmmakers turn their cameras on an orphaned chimp.

"...edited to imply the chimpanzees are mugging for the camera. Don't be fooled: The humans are the only ones..."

April 27, 2012 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Rampart

Woody Harrelson reunites with the director of The Messenger to create this portrait of a very dirty cop.

"...Things start to disassemble when a video camera catches Dave delivering a violent beat-down, which is constantly..."

Feb. 24, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Devil Inside

A woman tries to determine whether her incarcerated mother is criminally insane or demonically possessed.

"...Isabella was a child. Twenty years later, and with camera crew in tow, Isabella heads off to Italy to..."

Jan. 13, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Weekend

This movie about a gay hookup that becomes something more is perceptive, emotional, comical, and much more.

"...As the end to the tumultuous weekend approaches, the camera dreads the impending loss as much as the characters...."

Oct. 14, 2011 Movie Review by James Renovitch

Apollo 18

This secretive film's premise is that it reveals suppressed footage of the U.S. government's secret mission to the moon.

"...being manipulated, there’s no denying the itchy-making impact of camerawork that looks like it’s bypassed Hollywood manufacturing...."

Sept. 9, 2011 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

The actor Michael Rapaport turns director for this admiring portrait of the seminal Nineties hip-hop outfit.

"...turned first-time documentarian Michael Rapaport mostly keeps himself off camera in this admiring portrait of the seminal Nineties hip-hop..."

July 29, 2011 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

I Am Number Four

This filmed adaptation of the first book in the proposed Lorien Legacies series follows the tribulations of an alien refugee on Earth.

"...in the proposed Lorien Legacies series. A comically protracted camera zoom opens the film – one of those showboaty..."

Feb. 18, 2011 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

TV Eye: Zeroing in on a ZIP Code

Filmmaking brothers turn a camera on their hometown in 45365

"...Filmed over nine months, the Ross brothers take their camera all over Sidney, capturing what some might call the..."

Dec. 10, 2010 Screens Column by Belinda Acosta

Boxing Gym

Famed documentary maker Frederick Wiseman directs his camera on Richard Lord's Austin boxing gym.

"...not always of much interest; boxers' eyes catch the camera often enough to suggest they were conscious of its..."

Nov. 12, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Jackass 3D

Now with even more stupefying stunts and added dimensions.

"...when we're presented with scenes so bile-risible that the cameraman pukes on his own camera. Such is the case..."

Oct. 22, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

My Soul To Take

Wes Craven wrote and directed this serial-killer movie – but you'd never know it to look at it.

"...shame of it is that the man behind the camera is Wes Craven when, by all rights, it should..."

Oct. 15, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Town

Ben Affleck directs, co-writes, and stars in this gripping action-drama about bank robbers.

"...his hometown, Boston, for his second time behind the camera, following 2007’s well-received Gone Baby Gone. The title’s town..."

Sept. 17, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Last Exorcism

This faux documentary pulls few punches in its fresh look at what happens when religion and the secular world collide.

"...doe-eyed daughter, Nell (Bell), is possessed. Marcus brings the camera crew along with him, and the first half of..."

Aug. 27, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

This documentary is a softball, entirely sympathetic, and wickedly funny portrait of the artist at an advancing age.

"...canny comedienne not at all censoring herself for the camera – Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a..."

June 25, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders

With an unflinching camera and candid observation, this documentary follows four medical volunteers, ranging from fresh-faced newbies to battle-scarred veterans of the organization.

"...to the doctors both at work and unwinding; the camera doesn't flinch from graphic scenes of amputation, brain drilling,..."

June 11, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Casino Jack and the United States of Money

Muckraking documentarian Alex Gibney here directs his camera toward the influence-peddling scandals that erupted around Jack Abramoff.

"...DeLay and convicted Congressman Bob Ney sat for the camera – but he never nabbed Abramoff; despite being the..."

May 21, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Oceans

The makers of Winged Migration are behind this documentary about the creatures that live in the waters covering nearly two-thirds of the Earth's surface.

"...of resistance to hard facts dogs the film. The camera may dive deep, but the content merely skims the..."

April 30, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

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